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Hi everyone! My wife and I visited Las Cruces this December and really fell in love with the city. I'll attach some pictures from our trip to this post. We have been looking for somewhere to move for the past few years, and LC checked most of our boxes.
We are both teachers from Southeastern Wisconsin, specifically the suburbs of Milwaukee. I am in my early 30s with a Masters Degree and 5 years of teaching experience. My wife is in her mid 20s and is a first year teacher. Our plan is to have our first child in 2021, and move out of the state in 2022. These are the things we are looking for in a new city:
A warmer climate
Affordable (teacher salary vs cost of living)
Good schools
Safe
A diverse culture
Access to great outdoor recreation
More progressive politics
Like I said, it seems like Las Cruces satisfies all/most of these items. Although, I have read some conflicting information about the quality of education and how pleasant the climate is. I am curious whether or not you all think that Las Cruces is a good fit based on what we are looking for. I'm also curious as to what some good "next steps" would be. My wife suggested that we visit in summer, to see if we can handle the hottest time of the year. December was very mild and pleasant compared to what we are used to. I would also imagine we should brush up on our Spanish if we intend on applying to Las Cruces Public Schools.
Finally, I wouldn't mind some general advice for anyone who moved to Las Cruces away from friends/family. We both grew up in Southeastern Wisconsin, and both of our families live here, in addition to our friend group. I have wanted to move out of WI as long as I can remember, but she is more concerned about leaving the familiarity. For those of you who made the move, was it worth it? Is there any way to work through these feelings before making the leap?
I had the same feelings many years ago when I visited Taos while on vacation. At the time, I taught in California. I stopped by the district office and was approached by an administrator who asked whether I would like a job. "Sure!", I replied. "Are there any openings?" He said there were and he was ready to offer a job to me on the spot. I asked to show me the salary schedule and, after looking at it, said, "Thanks, but no thanks". I would have been making half of what I made at my current job.
When I retired, I moved to Placitas. Lived there for 11 years and loved every minute of it.
You may want to do a little investigating within the walls of the Las Cruces School District offices before quitting your day job. Good luck.
Good point about looking into the district offices and salary schedules!
Even though you made more money in CA, the cost of living seems atrocious for teachers out there. Otherwise CA would also be on my list.
For salary schedules, it looks like Las Cruces has a 3 tiered system dependent on annual evaluations, which is actually really similar to my current district.
Considering the low cost of living in Las Cruces, its actually more affordable than where I'm currently at. Although... the annual raises on the salary schedule are pretty pathetic, unless you move up a tier.
If both my spouse and I were able to get into tier 3 after a few years that would put our family income above 120k/year, which is very comfortable in LC. My current house in the Milwaukee suburbs would cost half as much in LC.
Sorry, editing my answer to say that I see you've looked up the salaries.
Level 3 means that you're highly rated? That's great because there is a big pay difference between level 1 and level 3.
Go for it! You are still young. If anything, you can rack up experience and then move elsewhere.
The teacher salaries in NM are higher than the teacher salaries in AZ and cost of living is a lot higher in the Phoenix area than it is in Las Cruces.
Warmer climate for sure! Safe? There is a lot of property crime here, depending on where you in the city you choose to locate. I am a realtor, so you can DM me if you'd like resources on the safer vs the more crime-ridden areas. The last three factors aren't a problem and you will be fine. The second and the third questions are important. Las Cruces Public Schools do not pay very well. I knew a retired kindergarten teacher that when she retired at 20 + years did so on a $54,000 a year salary, this was in 2010. Even for 10 years ago, that's not a good number. School quality is a matter of philosophy. New Mexico is always hovering in the bottom 3 when it comes to test scores, student achievement and the like. I say that if you as a family value education, and clearly, you do, then enrolling your children in school here and having them succeed academically is a certainty. The schools here, the building, the resources, and the teachers are all neutral, relative to Milwaukee. I maintain how states, counties and communities measure out when it comes to academic success has a direct correlation to parental involvement in the child's scholastic activities on a day to day basis. Parents here tend to have children when they are younger and poorer, and do not have appreciable time to dedicate to their children's day to day scholastic activities relative to a wealthy Milwaukee suburb. I am from New Jersey originally. If you saw children on a school night out a supermarket at 9 pm, that was a rarity. It is much, much more common here. We are talking elementary school age children. There is no earthly way that child is going to be as prepared to learn the following day than a child that is asleep at that time. So, if you are an education-centric parent, your child will thrive just as much here as your school district in the Milwaukee area.
Hello,
I know this is an older thread. Looks like some of you really know the neighborhoods well here in LC. My wife and I are moving there and negotiating a commercial purchase (for work). The business that we’re looking at is located just West of the tracks near Lions Park and the tennis courts off of Pacheco Avenue.
We’ve already gotten call sheets from the police department. However, we’re still looking for personal knowledge from local residents who either live in the area, or have personal knowledge of that specific area.
Thanks in advance!
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Information on Specific Area - Crime
